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Strange VLC problem
by Evan Leibovitch 24 Jan '21

24 Jan '21

Hi all, Last week, in an attempt to make my desktop more readable to my ageing eyes, I bought a $40 stand and set up my monitors vertically (see 1st pic). Changing the KDE setup to accommodate this (Kubuntu 20.04 LTS) was easy, and all of my apps seem to work fine with the new setup ... except VLC. VLC no longer works the way it used to. Videos will now play only if I decouple the video window from the VLC interface ("Integrate video in interface" must be unchecked). And now if I try to resize the interface, it visually "stutters" (see second photo) and remains stuttered in this form until I resize the window again. I have tried multiple options for video output with no change in behaviour. Again, the videos display fine but only if I separate the video window from the interface window. Resizing the video window works fine. All suggestions are appreciated. Evan Leibovitch, Toronto Canada @evanleibovitch / @el56

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time is running out for gtalug.org
by D. Hugh Redelmeier 24 Jan '21

24 Jan '21

I managed to get Linode to revive the gtalug.org machine. I was told that it would work until the end of the billing cycle (the end of this month -- soon!). I would like to facilitate transferring control of the site from Chris to the GTALUG. Note: I do not have control. I have no authority to request it. I don't know who to talk to on our end. I've sent messages to a few people but haven't gotten very far. Who should I be talking to? I don't actually know who the GTALUG board and executives are. (Chris didn't post the results of the last election. I suspect he wasn't well and we just didn't know it. I feel really badly about not knowing and not trying to help him. I think that I talked with him on the phone on the day of the AGM.) (It could even be that the GTALUG folks I've reached out to are not in a good place. I have no idea.)

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Membership Card??
by Slackrat 24 Jan '21

24 Jan '21

By the way, what happened to the Membership Cards, or do I not remember correctly? -- William Henderson aka Slackrat http://billh.sdf.org/slackware.jpg 9HS5203 ON HamSphere Ham Radio

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How do I demonstrate a crappy network?
by David Collier-Brown 19 Jan '21

19 Jan '21

I'm working on an article about advances in Linux networking (eg, Cake), but with a demonstration anyone can do, to convince doubters. I therefor need a way to show how crappy someone's network is. I tried Skype "echo" calls and an couple of similar approaches, then tried playing you-tube videos, all while throwing a load on the network. But it doesn't /visibly/ fail. What is something that I can make fail, either audibly or visually? Showing my grandmother ping statistics isn't going to work (;-)) --dave -- David Collier-Brown, | Always do right. This will gratify System Programmer and Author | some people and astonish the rest davecb(a)spamcop.net | -- Mark Twain

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USB-C Dock Experience Sharing
by Scott Sullivan 18 Jan '21

18 Jan '21

This came up in another conversation. Just want to share some of my thoughts on dealing with USB-C docks / dongles. I think since COVID a lot of folks are doing these docked laptop setups for work at home. I've had three different devices I've worked with that have type-C. I've seen some very mixed results so far. Devices: GPD P2 MAX (9" Ultrabook) One Netbook A1 (8" Netbook) HP x360 15" #1 Cable Matters Dual Monitor USB C Dock (USB C Docking Station) for MacBook Pro with Dual 4K HDMI and 80W Laptop Charging (USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 Port Compatible) https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07MKPP1W4/ I currently own two of these, worked reliably under linux with the P2 MAX. Which is why I got a second one for my partner Trent and his HP 2-in-1 convertible laptop. The latter had all sort of driver issues under windows. Those stabilized after finding the drivers from the manufacturer, but the Ethernet only works for a while, then disappears. It does not work with the One Netbook A1, going into a power negotiation loop. (*) #2 UGREEN USB C Hub 8 in 1 Type C Dock Station Multiport Adapter to 4K HDMI, Gigabit Ethernet, SD TF Card Reader, 3 USB 3.0 Ports https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07BFWHPBG This little guy has worked flawlessly on every machine I've thrown at it. Not built to handle really high current charging that the HP machine can demand, but great for out an about. Is currently serving desktop duty with the A1. #3 J&D 5 in 1 USB C Hub, Portable 5 Ports Aluminum Type C Hub with Power Delivery PD Type C Charging Port, 4K HDMI Port, RJ45 1000Mbps Ethernet Port, USB 3.0 USB 2.0 Port Adapter Gray https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07V1M2JXQ I filed a complaint against this listing, as it's only a 100Mbps Ethernet, not 1Gbps. It's never been corrected. Works mostly well enough and was used for desktop duty with the P2 Max before the Cablematters dock came into the picture. Would need to be power cycled ever once in a blue moon. Would not recommend. #4 CalDigit USB-C Gen2 10Gb/s SOHO Dock - Up to 4K 60Hz, HDMI 2.0b, HDR, DisplayPort 1.4, 10Gb/s USB A & USB C, UHS-II microSD and SD Card Readers, Bus Power and Passthrough Charging Support https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B08FF3BDW5 This one is on my buy-next List. It's built to support the higher bandwidth USB spec, so you not fighting with the 4K-30Hhz limitations of all the above for HDMI. Based on this quick impressions video from LTT. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2r10vOzxh4 --- *: My Spare Cable Matters Dock is for sale, on a try before you buy basis. Contact me off-list. -- Scott Sullivan

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DRAM Issues
by Michael Galea 17 Jan '21

17 Jan '21

Hi All, I think I have fixed a longstanding problem in a desktop by lowering the DDR3 ram speed from 1333 to 1066 Mhz. The question I'm asking here is whether lowering the speed is the only way to go, or if there are alternatives such as playing with RAS/CAS timings?. Has anyone ever experienced a situation such as this? The desktop is old, running a quad core i5 at 3.1 Ghz. It started exhibiting an increase segfaults, page faults, dual linked list errors, and just plain crashes in the last year. I was able to correlate the failures to memory intensive processes, the worst of which turned out to be running chrome in headless mode. (For the longest time I thought it was just chrome). Also, moving the video driver from nouveau back to nvidia_drm made a big difference. Thanks -- Michael Galea

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Linus blaming Intel for lack of ECC in consumer systems
by D. Hugh Redelmeier 17 Jan '21

17 Jan '21

This is something I quite agree with. I gave up complaining about 20 years ago but would welcome a change: <https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/01/linus-torvalds-blames-intel-for-lac…> <https://www.realworldtech.com/forum/?threadid=198497&curpostid=198647>

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dsl modem ideas for bell?
by Karen Lewellen 16 Jan '21

16 Jan '21

Hi folks, Hope you all are finding ways to feel creative. Wondering if anyone might have a suggestion providing a solution. Bell is my dsl provider, they also provide my land line and satellites service as well, but that is not the issue really. Because I still use analog phone service, its tied to some of my adaptive technology, my dsl modem / rooter combination provided by Bell is a tw or two wire model...or at least it was until this weekend. Honestly I am not a major user of data, but I do often need to connect more than one Ethernet setup, and require that someone using wireless be able to do this with little fanfare. Largely because none of bell's software works for my setup. anyway, the problem is that bell has replaced my beloved modem with one that causes my landline to click, as in makes a constant clicking noise whenever the modem is connected, which is all the time. What I am seeking is hopefully an older, but still to be found prospect, with several Ethernet ports the ability to connect wirelessly, yet being a tw model. My old one had stream in the title if that rings a..bell. I have literary had 5 technicians here since Saturday, with three of them messing up my Internet on top of not addressing the issue. Any bell modem ideas come to mind? why on earth by the way, must I only use bell equipment in the first place? Kare the ranter.

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David Tilbrook
by D. Hugh Redelmeier 16 Jan '21

16 Jan '21

David Tilbrook passed away in the night yesterday. COVID-19, dammit. David had given a couple of talks at GTALUG. He was a long-time UNIX guy. We did CS degrees at the same time at the University of Toronto. He was an official member of DGP (I was only a guest) where (and when) the first U of T UNIX system was installed. We and Rob Pike worked on text editors (ed, qed), among other things. You know when a GUI interface changes the cursor symbol to indicate that the system is busy? He invented that. He was one of the founders of HCR, a Toronto UNIX software house. He did a lot of interesting things, knew a lot of interesting people, and had a lot of interesting stories. He has a good family too. I miss him. In fact, I've missed him for a year -- we were planning to visit when COVID showed up. "We" included Christopher Browne, now also passed.

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The Best of GTALUG
by Warren McPherson 15 Jan '21

15 Jan '21

I would love to hear people's thoughts about the best things about GTALug. For me, there is an element of digital citizenship that is uncelebrated but remarkably compelling. I would love to hear the thoughts of other people in the group. I have two questions in mind. What was a moment for you of GTALUG at it's best? What would you like to see more of, or what direction would be good to explore? <http://www.avg.com/email-signature?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_cam…> Virus-free. www.avg.com <http://www.avg.com/email-signature?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_cam…> <#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>

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